rufus wainwright and prima donna at the manchester international festival

We arrived at the entrance at the same time as the composer and his entourage, and as usual there was a bit of a scrum with a TV cameraman barging past my shoulder. No change there then!
Rufus also materialised in the circle bar with his similarly-dressed friends at the interval which was a bonus for the opera goers not invited to the after show party. Like me!
It was very interesting to have a night out at the theatre that wasn't in Liverpool.
But you'll notice I haven't said a lot about Prima Donna, his first opera, yet.
It was beautifully staged and lit by Anthony McDonald and Peter Mumford, and Janis Kelly was spot-on as the fading French "prima donna" of the title, a cross between Norma Desmond, Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo.
Alas for me it was all a bit basic, both in the composition (although there was the odd enticing flourish amid lush strings) and the French libretto, while the music often disappointingly flatlined - there weren't any memorable themes or arias, it just went on, and on, and on in the same vein with the odd allusion to Wainwright's classical music heroes.
I hope a somewhat lacklustre response to what was, in the end, a rather lacklustre and at times awkward composition, doesn't put off the ambitious Canadian from trying again.
But before he does I think he needs to match that flaming ambition with a level of classical music sophistication which is missing at the moment.